1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is concerned with apparatus for cleaning baseboards of walls in commercial buildings, residences, institutional buildings and the like. More particularly, this invention relates to baseboard cleaning apparatus whose cleaning pad (e.g., a synthetic sponge) is repeatedly immersed in a bucket of water in order to repeatedly clean said pad during the course of a baseboard cleaning operation.
2. Discussion of the Background
Baseboards of walls are often cleaned by hand. This requires the worker to repeatedly bend, stoop and kneel. These motions are uncomfortable at best, and sometimes even injurious (especially to a worker's lower back region). Consequently, several devices have been proposed to make the task of cleaning baseboards easier. For example, U.S. Patent Publication No. 2006/0182487 A1 discloses a baseboard cleaner having two vertically and horizontally adjustable pads (e.g., a cleaning pad and a drying pad) configured to simultaneously contact a baseboard. This baseboard cleaner further comprises a liquid dispenser, a handle that may be angled rearward and away from the wall, and a roller means such as a set of wheels. U.S. Pat. No. 3,042,952 teaches a baseboard cleaner having a pair of upright plates to which cleaning pads are affixed. A handle is pivotally mounted between the plates. This baseboard cleaner is carried on a pair of rollers. Thus, these two pad baseboard cleaning devices tend to be relatively large, complex, cumbersome and not readily suited to baseboard cleaning operations wherein the cleaning pads are repeatedly immersed in a bucket of water and squeezed in order to clean such pads.